Detroit files for federal bankruptcy, marking largest case in US history

The city of Detroit has filed for federal bankruptcy, or Chapter 9 protection, which could mean municipal employees are laid off, assets sold and services like trash collection, which have already been cut to the bone, further scaled back.

Detroit has become the largest city in American history to file
for bankruptcy. Kevin Orr, a bankruptcy expert hired by the state
of Michigan in March to try and lead the Motor City away from a
fiscal cliff, submitted the filing on Thursday, reported the AP.

On the same day, Michigan governor Rick Snyder laid out the case
in support of Chapter 9 protection, saying that the “decision
comes in the wake of 60 years of decline for the city."

Snyder said that despite the “best efforts” by Detroit’s
Office of the Emergency Manager, the city was unable to reach a
restructuring plan with its debtors - leaving more than $18
billion in outstanding debts.

"We must face the fact that the city cannot and is not paying
its debts as they come due, and is insolvent,” added
Snyder.

The city of Detroit lost a quarter-million residents between 2000
and 2010, reports the AP. Boasting a population of 1.8 million in
the 1950s, the municipality is now struggling to stay above
700,000 residents. An estimated 78,000 structures are currently
abandoned in the city and unemployment has tripled since 2000
and, at roughly 15 percent of the population, is currently double
the national average.

In addition to a severe loss of population, the city faces a host
of issues hampering its economic recovery including a 47 per cent
delinquency rate on property taxes and a murder rate at its
highest in nearly 40 years. Detroit’s tax rates are already at
their 'legal limits,' while city expenditures have surpassed
revenue for six consecutive years.

According to Orr’s Thursday letter, negotiated settlements with
the city’s creditors are not possible outside of bankruptcy
“given the vast and fragmented
pool of potential creditors."

In June Orr met with some 180 bond insurers, pension trustees,
union representatives and an assortment of creditors and asked
them to take about 10 cents on the dollar for the city’s debt,
reports the AP.

The Washington-based bankruptcy attorney hired by Michigan in
March had said then that the chances of bankruptcy for Detroit
were 50-50.

"The average Detroiter has to
understand this is a culmination of years and years of kicking
the can down the road," Orr said.

Detroit had for years relied on borrowing and deferred payments
to its pension funds to keep the city afloat.